Blade November 2018

BLADE Show Suggestions I just read the article on the BLADE Show 2018 changes (page 10, September BLADE®) and found the part on the crowds of people blocking the hallways and how the badges, fire marshal issues and people trying to set up there display issues could possibly be solved in better ways. I have always found getting the badges in the morning to be quite a hassle of unnecessary long lines and precious time being wasted before you can enter the show. In my opinion it is a pretty inefficient system and without a doubt it is getting worse as the show grows. Could this not all be significantly reduced by simply mailing out the badges in advance? Also, setting up the badge area right in front of where…

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The Carothers/Keffeler Competition Chopper used by Jo Carothers in the women’s division of the 2018 BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition conducted by BladeSports International is this issue’s cover knife. The knife is a collaboration between Carothers Performance Knives (CPK) and Dan Keffeler. The chopper sports a 10-inch-blade of Vanadis 4 Extra carbon steel and, with a Rockwell hardness of 63.5 HRC, is quite hard for enhanced edge holding. The handle is a hard rubber called ebonite. The knife weighs 23 ounces and is 15 inches overall. CPK’s list price for a similar piece: $750. For more on the cover knife see the story on page 48 and/or e-mail carothersknives@gmail.com , visit carothersknives.com or Facebook @CarothersKnives, or Dan Keffeler on Instagram @ dan_keffeler. The cover knife image is courtesy of…

Sponsored by Edda and Aldo Lorenzi, owners of the old G. Lorenzi retail knife store in Milan, Italy, the BLADE Show version of the Aldo and Edda Lorenzi Award goes to a knifemaker who excels in terms of teaching and mentoring his fellow makers in the art of knifemaking. It includes a cash prize of $1,000 and a handsome award plaque, both generously funded by the Lorenzis. This year’s winner is industry icon Tony Bose. When Tony first started crafting knives, he asked a maker to share a knife pattern with him. When the maker refused, Tony decided that whenever anyone asked him for a pattern he would give it to him or her, and he always has, sending patterns all over the world. It’s a legacy of sharing knowledge…

We speed for miles on freeways past sun-blasted concrete and Mojave Desert scrub, then climb winding mountain roads rising from the blistering heat, going deep into a cool, pine-tree-covered national forest. With me are “ML”—wife, photographer and companion of a hundred adventures—and our eldest grandson, Alex. Our mission: a field review of three bearded axes. Alex is a typical urban teenager, an avid athlete who’s played basketball and baseball since he was old enough to hold a ball but has little outdoor experience. We’ve brought him with us to add a different point of view to the review: how the axes work for someone with limited experience. I’ve used various axes for over a half century and planned to provide Alex with basic instruction, including safety. ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE WAR AXE…

“I’m a full time paramedic and a part-time bartender here in the great city of New Orleans. I carry a Kershaw Leek—Ken Onion is the man!—on both jobs because it’s small enough to do what I need when I need it. I carry different ones for each job. This is the one I have today at the bar.” Steve Fowler, a letter via e-mail “I carry a Bear Swipe by Bear Ops. I like the way the handle fits my hand, and the recurve blade is, ahem, a bear for cutting.” Lucas R. Madison, a letter via e-mail “My EDC is a Fallkniven PC folder. It’s a slim little gent’s knife with no clip. It’s so little I can barely feel it in my pocket.” Hugh Talbot, a letter via…